Peter Taylor (editor)
Encyclopedia
For other people named Peter Taylor, see Peter Taylor.
Peter Taylor (Portsmouth
28 February 1922 - Rome, Italy 17 December 1997) was an English
film editor with more than 30 film credits. Perhaps his best remembered contribution is the editing of the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai
.
In his obituary for Taylor, Tony Sloman
gives several examples to illustrate Taylor's editing. He writes:
Taylor won an Academy Award for Film Editing
for The Bridge on the River Kwai
(1957), which was placed as the 36th best American film ever made in the 2007 American Film Institute listing
. David Lean
directed the film, about whom Ken Dancyger has noted that, "Lean may have made few films, but his influence has far exceeded those numbers. The role of editing in his films may help explain that influence." Lean himself had begun his own career as a film editor. Sloman comments on the relationship of Lean, Taylor, and the film's editing:
Peter Taylor (Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
28 February 1922 - Rome, Italy 17 December 1997) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
film editor with more than 30 film credits. Perhaps his best remembered contribution is the editing of the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
.
In his obituary for Taylor, Tony Sloman
Anthony Sloman
Anthony Barney Sloman is an English broadcaster, film critic, film director, film editor, film producer, lecturer, production manager, screenwriter, sound editor and actor....
gives several examples to illustrate Taylor's editing. He writes:
Taylor won an Academy Award for Film Editing
Academy Award for Film Editing
The Academy Award for Film Editing is one of the annual awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominations for this award are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since 1981, every film selected as Best Picture has also been nominated for the Film Editing...
for The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
(1957), which was placed as the 36th best American film ever made in the 2007 American Film Institute listing
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
The first of the AFI 100 Years… series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies...
. David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
directed the film, about whom Ken Dancyger has noted that, "Lean may have made few films, but his influence has far exceeded those numbers. The role of editing in his films may help explain that influence." Lean himself had begun his own career as a film editor. Sloman comments on the relationship of Lean, Taylor, and the film's editing:
Selected filmography
The director of each film is indicated within the parentheses.- Hobson's Choice (1952-David LeanDavid LeanSir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
) - Summertime (1955-David Lean)
- Portrait of AlisonPortrait of AlisonPortrait of Alison is a 1955 British crime film directed by Guy Green and starring Robert Beatty, Terry Moore, William Sylvester, Geoffrey Keen, Henry Oscar and Terence Alexander. An artist and actress join forces to solve a murder and confront a deadly diamond-smuggling ring. It was based on a BBC...
(1956-Guy Green) - The Man Who Never WasThe Man Who Never WasThe Man Who Never Was is a nonfiction 1953 book by Ewen Montagu and a 1956 Second World War war film, based on the book and dramatising actual events...
(1956-Ronald NeameRonald NeameRonald Elwin Neame CBE, BSC was an English film cinematographer, producer, screenwriter and director.-Early career:...
) - The Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
(1957-David Lean) - Luna de Miel or Honeymoon (1959-Michael PowellMichael Powell (director)Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
) - The MarkThe MarkThe Mark is a 1961 film which tells the story of a convicted child molester, now out of prison, who is suspected in the molestation and beating of another child. It stars Maria Schell, Stuart Whitman, Rod Steiger and Brenda De Banzie....
(1961-Guy Green) - Waltz of the ToreadorsWaltz of the Toreadors (film)Waltz of the Toreadors is a 1962 film directed by John Guillermin. It stars Peter Sellers and Dany Robin. It was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 1963.-Cast:*Peter Sellers as General Leo Fitzjohn*Dany Robin as Ghislaine...
(1962-John Guillermin) - This Sporting LifeThis Sporting LifeThis Sporting Life is a 1963 British film based on a novel of the same name by David Storey which won the 1960 Macmillan Fiction Award. It tells the story of a rugby league footballer, Frank Machin, in Wakefield, a mining area of Yorkshire, whose romantic life is not as successful as his sporting...
(1963-Lindsay AndersonLindsay AndersonLindsay Gordon Anderson was an Indian-born, British feature film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading light of the Free Cinema movement and the British New Wave...
) - One Way PendulumOne Way PendulumOne Way Pendulum is a 1964 British comedy film directed by Peter Yates and starring Eric Sykes and George Cole. It is an adaptation of the play by N. F. Simpson.-Cast:* Eric Sykes as Mr. Groomkirby* George Cole as Defense counsel/friend...
(1965-Peter YatesPeter YatesPeter James Yates was an English director and producer. He was born in Aldershot, Hampshire.The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked for some years as an actor, director and stage manager...
) - Judith (1966-Daniel MannDaniel MannDaniel Mann, also known as Daniel Chugerman , was an American film and television director.Daniel Mann was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was a stage actor since childhood, and attended Erasmus Hall High School, New York's Professional Children's School and the Neighborhood Playhouse...
) - The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew (1967 film)The Taming of the Shrew is a 1967 film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare about a courtship between two strong-willed people...
(1967-Franco ZeffirelliFranco ZeffirelliFranco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....
) - AnzioAnzio (film)Anzio, also known as Lo Sbarco di Anzio or The Battle for Anzio, is a 1968 war film about Operation Shingle, the 1944 Allied seaborne assault on the Italian port of Anzio in World War II...
(1968-Edward DmytrykEdward DmytrykEdward Dmytryk was an American film director who was amongst the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who served time in prison for being in contempt of Congress during the McCarthy-era 'red scare'.-Early life:Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada,...
) - Fangio (1971-Hugh HudsonHugh HudsonHugh Hudson is an English film director. His best-known international success is the 1981 multiple Academy Award-winning film, Chariots of Fire.- Early life :...
) - La TraviataLa Traviata (1983 film)La Traviata is a 1982 Italian film written, designed, and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. It is based on the 1853 opera of the same name with music by Giuseppe Verdi and libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. The film actually premiered in Italy in 1982, then went into general release there in 1983. It...
(1982-Franco Zeffirelli) - OtelloOtello (1986 film)Otello is a 1986 film based on the Giuseppe Verdi opera of the same name based on the Shakespeare play Othello. The film was directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starred Plácido Domingo in the title role, Katia Ricciarelli as Desdemona and Justino Díaz as Iago...
(1986-Franco Zeffirelli)